Simplified
Original meaning: heir to the throne
Depicts a queen mother (母) giving birth to her heir (𠫓). Based on the original meaning "heir to the throne". The meaning later expanded to "ruler", "successor", and "after".
Components
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | huwX | ɢˤ(r)oʔ | sovereign; queen |
說文解字
《說文》：“后，繼體君也。象人之形。施令以告四方，故厂之，从一、口。發號者，君后也。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 季旭昇《說文新證》p.708-709漢語多功能字庫
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | |
|---|---|---|
| Zhengzhang | pʰan | |
| Unicode | piæn |
說文解字
《說文新附》：“翻，飛也。从羽，番聲。或从飛。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Zhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Bamboo-like ⺮ tendons in the chest 肋
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | kjɨn | C.[k]ə[n] | sinew |
| Zhengzhang | kɯn | ||
| Unicode | giən |
說文解字
肉之力也。从力从肉从竹。竹，物之多筋者。凡筋之屬皆从筋。
Sources
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-SagartZhengzhang Shangfang
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Pictograph of a ladle or dipper. In simplified Chinese 斗 is also used to mean "fight, struggle", while in traditional Chinese this meaning is written with a separate character 鬥.
Character Evolution
Component uses
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | tuwX | tˤoʔ | bushel; ladle |
| tsyuX | toʔ | ladle |
說文解字
《說文》：“斗，十升也。象形，有柄。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)
Traditional
Depicts someone's foot (夂) being held back by a rope (幺), preventing them from being able to walk (彳) forward.
Components
Character Evolution
Historical Pronunciations
| Middle Chinese | Old Chinese | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baxter-Sagart | huwX | [ɢ]ˤ(r)oʔ | after |
| huwH | [ɢ]ˤ(r)oʔ-s | put after ? |
說文解字
《說文》：“後，遲也。从彳幺夊者，後也。，古文後从辵。”
Sources
- Character origin
- 漢語多功能字庫
- Readings & variants
- Unicode
- Historical pronunciations
- Baxter-Sagart
- Historical images
- Academia Sinica
- Etymology
- Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)